Author: JZadmin

Jean deceives Albertans by distorting province’s contribution, role in equalization program “Hostility is not a good political strategy,” is how Calgary communications expert Doug Lacombe described an oil and gas industry attempt in 2015 to tie equalization payments to pipeline approvals. Someone needs to tell Wildrose leader Brian Jean – who is busy making the same argument today – that nothing has changed in three years. Frankly, Jean is a political klutz on the national scene. I warned 18 months ago that Jean’s “shrill demands” for Ottawa to approve the Trans Mountain Expansion, Northern Gateway, and Line 3 pipelines were alienating support in other provinces where Alberta needs to get pipelines built. Two of those pipelines were approved Nov. 29 by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and in just a few months Kinder Morgan will be firing up the bulldozers to begin construction in the face of vehement opposition from eco-activists, First Nations, and Metro Vancouver mayors. Not to mention plenty of ordinary citizens concernend about the environmental effect of dilbit spills. Now is the time for diplomacy and engagement. What is Jean doing? Conducting an angry and highly visible campaign to reduce equalisation payments because “Albertan’s [sic] continue to shell out billions in transfer payments while it faces opposition from its provincial neighbours on projects of national interest.” And by projects Jean means pipelines. He even demanded to meet...

A few weeks or days before pipeline construction begins is too late to be talking up Climate Leadership Plan in Vancouver The Alberta oil and gas industry talks a lot about the cost of the Climate Leadership Plan, which is fair enough with Western Canada Select hovering below $39USD a barrel. But what of the Plan’s value as a public relations tool with the construction start of the Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline looming? When Premier Rachel Notley announced the Climate Leadership Plan in late 2015, accompanied onstage by CEOs of the four biggest oil sands producers, some critics argued it was nothing but a PR ploy, a sop to the eco-warriors, just another feeble attempt to have granted that gormless thing called “social licence.” The tone was dismissive, as if public relations is of no consequence. If that was true, then Trans Mountain Expansion adversaries wouldn’t be busy this summer organizing petitions, like Dogwood Initiative: “Texas pipeline barons, oil industry lobbyists and their friends in Ottawa want to ram this project through our province — without Indigenous consent, and without a health and safety review.” Or pressuring banks to withdraw financing from the Kinder Morgan project, as Greenpeace is doing (with some success, as Desjardins announced a temporary pipeline financing ban last week). Or First Nations mounting social media campaigns, like the Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s downtown Vancouver “I’m Another Voter Against the Pipeline billboard, where people are...

With minority BC NDP government set to take power, Notley must lead fight to defend Trans Mountain Expansion After a shaky start to her campaign to support Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline when it begins construction this fall, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley got it right in a speech to the Stampede Investment Forum in Calgary on Tuesday, putting the Climate Leadership Plan front and centre in her appeal to British Columbia, which will very shortly have an NDP minority government committed to fighting the Kinder Morgan project. Follow Teo on Linkedin and Facebook! “Albertans care about climate change .. and that’s exactly why our climate leadership plan is the most forward-looking and aggressive and fulsome anywhere in North America,” she told the audience, which occasionally broke into applause according to the CBC. “We’re reducing methane. We’re phasing out harmful coal emissions. And we’ve capped oil sands emissions, which means — and this is really important — it means the twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline will not lead to higher oil sands emissions.” That last point is key because it’s frequently misunderstood and Notley needs to hammer it home every time she talks about the oil sands emissions cap, wherever she happens to be speechifying. The 100 megatonne/year cap is intended to reduce the carbon-intensity of Alberta oil sands crude so that production can be increased without raising emissions from their current level of...

EV analyst Chris Robinson cautions that Tesla Model 3 not yet a tipping point for EV market, industry The long awaited first Tesla Model 3 – a sleek black four door gifted to CEO Elon Musk by a board member – hit the streets of California Monday and immediately became a social media sensation. The $35,000USD Model 3 is the company’s first mass market electric vehicle, but analyst Chris Robinson says it still isn’t quite a game changer for the nascent EV industry. “The first certified production Model 3 that meets all regulatory requirements will be completed this week, with a handover of ~30 customer cars at our Fremont factory on July 28. More details to follow soon,” Tesla said in a press release Friday. “Handover party for first 30 customer Model 3’s on the 28th! Production grows exponentially, so Aug should be 100 cars and Sept above 1500,” Musk tweeted last week. “Looks like we can reach 20,000 Model 3 cars per month in Dec.” Musk has said he expects the Model 3 to help Tesla deliver five times its current annual sales volume, which last year was just over 100,000 units. Robinson says that while it is encouraging to see the Model 3 coming off production lines on time, something that previous Tesla vehicles have failed to do, he doesn’t consider the EV a tipping point for industry sales. “Tesla still...

Rachel Notley should lead Sustainable Prosperity Steering Committee, use it as platform to champion Alberta energy The Canadian Assoc. of Petroleum Producers released a study Wednesday arguing that Alberta energy and climate regulations are hindering industry competitiveness, especially when compared to the United States. CAPP has a point. The energy world is changing rapidly. If the Alberta petroleum sector is going to adapt and thrive in this new world, it needs strong leadership, including political and policy leadership. While the Rachel Notley government has done very good work on this file, some of it innovative and groundbreaking, it’s time for the Premier to step up and take a much more active political role on energy issues. “It is critical Alberta and Canada compare their policies and regulatory regimes with the U.S., our only major market for oil and natural gas exports, and our biggest competitor for capital. We need a made-in-Alberta approach to competitiveness,” CAPP said in a press release. Never mind public opinion polls showing that Canadians loath Donald Trump, Calgary-based oil and gas executives are envious of the President’s support for American oil and gas producers, especially his “energy dominance doctrine.” Trump is cutting deals to open the Chinese market to American LNG exports, reducing regulations to lower costs for American producers, and promoting US energy exports at every opportunity. Trump is the American industry’s champion. Now, Alberta needs...